The first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2, The Passing, will be out tomorrow for both the PC and Xbox 360. The content includes a number of new features including:

A new 3 map campaign which takes place between “Dead Center” and “Dark Carnival”. In the campaign the cast meets up with the survivors from the original Left 4 Dead.

A new uncommon infected, the “Fallen Survivor”, that drops usable items when killed.

Two new weapons, the M60 (which cannot be reloaded) and a golf club melee weapon.

A new co-operative challenge mode

Support for infected bots in Versus mode (awesome).

A new game mode, “Mutations” which changes on a weekly basis. Some examples of the rotating game modes include “Realism Versus” mode or “Chainsaw Massacre” where each player is given a chainsaw with limited fuel.

The DLC will run 560 Microsoft points ($7.00) for the Xbox 360. It’s free for PC users.

Normally it’s not a big deal when someone updates a game and adds a single new achievement (Transmission Received), but it’s Valve and Portal might be one of my favorite games of all time. I also love a crazy video game mystery, which it turns out this update is. Along with the achievement Valve also added in a bunch of radios through out the game, probably in reference to the achievement, with Morse code and what sounds like a bunch of random noise. Not that interesting, but then people decoded the Morse code (the sound files are all called Dinosaur 1, 2, etc. so that’s what they are referencing):

And if you turn all those Beeps into individual morse code it spells LOL.

– The other 22 are all images after decoding with SSTV software. Click for a Steam Forums thread with all of them.

– Some of the images clue letters/numbers; each has a number out of 32 in the bottom right of it. Putting these together leads to an md5 hash of a BBS number. Figuring out the login is what we’re currently stuck on.

Getting interesting, but not amazing. It started to get really good when another poster decided to run the stuff that sounded like random noise (not the Morse code) through a program called SSTV (I don’t know what that is) and got a bunch of random images.

So, that’s pretty awesome, Valve didn’t put in random noise it’s actually images. And someone far smarter then me figured it out. Even better, some of the images had numbers and letters on them. Combined, they formed an MD5 hash, which normally you shouldn’t be able to decode (that’s the point), but somehow someone figured it out (Googling the hash is a good start for common passwords). Turns out it’s a phone number, specifically a number to a computer running BBS that you can Telnet to. The number is (425) 822-5251 which (apparently someone looked this up, too) is located in Kirkland, Washington. Don’t call it from a standard phone, it won’t do anything, and you’ll just clog up the machine for people trying to figure out the login. No one is sure yet what the login / password is.

I more amazed that people figured all of that out in less than 24 hours.

Valve’s WAR! Update Team Fortress 2 will be adding in a new crafting system. Basically, you find blueprints (or otherwise discover, I guess some are “secret”), smelt all your useless duplicates weapons to scrap parts, and use those to make a weapon you actually want! I honestly think it’s a great way to go, my inventory is completely full of useless duplicates. Or was when I stopped playing a while ago.

Anyway, with these constant, free updates to Team Fortress 2, Valve is quickly becoming the most awesome game company. Ever.

Team Fortress 2’s latest update will add three new weapons for the Demoman and Soldier as well as new maps and achievements. The interesting thing about this update is that either the Demoman or Soldier will get an additional weapon. Users “vote” who should get the weapon by either playing as the Demoman and killing as many Soldiers as possible, or killing Demomen while playing as a Soldier. It’s an interesting concept, I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I think I’d rather the Soldier get the additional weapon, not that they’re bad, but I think they would benefit most from additional versatility.

Still no word on when, if ever, the console versions of the game will get these updates.

Sure, Left 4 Dead 2 is only a month away, but that hasn’t stopped Valve from supporting Left 4 Dead. Crash Course is out for both the Xbox 360 and PC today. The downloadable content adds a new campaign (playable in survival and versus mode), new dialog, new achievements, and new locations.

It’s Left 4 Dead news day, apparently. At a press conference held in Tokyo, EA announced that a Left 4 Dead 2 demo will be out October 27th. No details on if the demo would be for the PC, Xbox 360, or both.

Sure, Left 4 Dead 2 is coming out in November, but that isn’t stopping Valve from releasing more DLC for the original Left 4 Dead. The new campaign, Crash Course, will be playable in single player, co-op, and versus modes and (adding some continuity to the campaigns) takes place between the No Mercy and Death Toll campaigns. Apparently, the helicopter rescue off the rooftop of the hospital ends…poorly. The new campaign will run for 560 Microsoft points on the Xbox 360 (it’s free for all the lucky PC users).

This month’s Official Xbox Magazine comes packaged with a pretty awesome Left 4 Dead Premium theme. The magazine should be out this Tuesday and will also include four exclusive L4D gamer pictures. I’m probably going to pick it up since Left 4 Dead is pretty much the greatest zombie game ever, besides maybe Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

Looks like the upcoming Left 4 Dead expansion, Survival Pack, is going to be free. The expansion is set to be released this spring and introduces a new mode, Survival, and Death Toll and Dead Air as versus maps.